Uber Africa Living Smart

Leveraging technology to enable smarter living

Uber is a company that most people in the world will have heard of. Not only does it have a net worth of $75 billion, but it is also currently operational in 65 countries, offering innovative transport and rideshare solutions.

“At Uber we have been expanding rapidly across the globe, with the goal to be everywhere and to offer everyone a mobility solution,” says Frans Hiemstra, the firm’s General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). “However, each market has its nuance, and a one size fits all strategy doesn’t work, especially not in Sub Saharan Africa.

“When we entered the market seven years ago, we knew we were going to be part of one of the world’s richest cultural bio-diversities, with a massive population of well over one billion, and saw this as one of our greatest opportunities.”

The company first launched in SubSaharan Africa in 2013, establishing a presence in Johannesburg. Since then, it has expanded to operate in seven countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ivory Coast, with Uber Eats available in several South African cities as well as Nairobi.

THINKING GLOBALLY, ACTING LOCALLY

One of Uber’s strategies is ‘think global, act local’, which underpins its ambition to provide localised solutions to cities, communities, governments and individuals.

“Uber is solving one of the most prevalent issues faced by people on the continent – unemployment – by effectively leveraging entrepreneurial thinking. Our app has been able to bring a reliable integrated transport solution in some of the cities that require this,” Hiemstra says.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to intercity transport solutions. Each city has its own unique difficulties, requiring tailormade solutions – something that Uber is aware of.